KINDJAL?? QAMA?? FOR COMMENT

ariel · 3rd December 2009, 11:15 PM

Caucasian masters often employed the technique of false damascening, mainly in the fullers, just like in all the examples shown here.
They covered the blade with a layer of goat fat, then drew the pattern with a sharp needle and covered the blade with sand soaked in acid. After ~one day they had an ~1 mm deep pattern. Cheap, quick and visually appealing.
They rarely made real damascus, because it was ~10 times more expensive to make and took a lot of time. Ordinarily, a master could make 2 regular blades a day.

I also do not think that the kindjal in question is Caucasian; Turkish would be my guess. This is because the artistic motives do not look Caucasian at all. Again, I can only notice that the niello looks absolutely pristine, with unusually sharp and intact edges, and the incised surfaces are also unusually crisp. I do not doubt your reliance on the alleged provenance, but I would not buy this one. Well, I can be totally wrong....

3rd December 2009, 11:15 PM	#15
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Caucasian masters often employed the technique of false damascening, mainly in the fullers, just like in all the examples shown here. They covered the blade with a layer of goat fat, then drew the pattern with a sharp needle and covered the blade with sand soaked in acid. After ~one day they had an ~1 mm deep pattern. Cheap, quick and visually appealing. They rarely made real damascus, because it was ~10 times more expensive to make and took a lot of time. Ordinarily, a master could make 2 regular blades a day. I also do not think that the kindjal in question is Caucasian; Turkish would be my guess. This is because the artistic motives do not look Caucasian at all. Again, I can only notice that the niello looks absolutely pristine, with unusually sharp and intact edges, and the incised surfaces are also unusually crisp. I do not doubt your reliance on the alleged provenance, but I would not buy this one. Well, I can be totally wrong....